You Remind me of the Babe
by Steph-Schell
Summary: Cursing Mathesons is never a smart move. (Part of hte magic verse)


Miles watched the shadows shift and swirl in odd patterns. "Don't move," he ordered Charlie. She froze instantly and Mistoffelees pounced on one of the shadows. "Look at this," Miles murmured as his familiar brought the shadow to him.

"What's that?" Charlie asked.

"Magic," Miles replied, studying it. He scratched Mistoffelees behind the ears and the cat purred loudly. "Good cat," he crooned. He glanced as Charlie's hawk. "You, my friend, are not doing your job."

"That doesn't look like our kind of magic," Charlie said.

"It's not," Miles told her. "Our magic is different. It comes from a different place. Europe mostly. This? This is voodoo."

Charlie reached out to touch the shadow. It felt cold and slimy, like a frog fresh out of the water. "What's voodoo?"

"Magic. It's from Haiti which is on a far away island called Cuba. But it's also practiced in the south. There used to be a state called Louisiana that was known for it."

"We're nowhere near the South. How did this little guy hitch a ride on me?"

"Don't act like he's a cute puppy," Miles warned. "These things can be very nasty if they want to." He let the shadow go and Mistoffelees pounced on it again. "My guess is a voodoo curse. Though why anyone would want to curse you I haven't a clue." Miles watched his familiar play with the shadow as though it were a mouse. "I intend to find out why though."

"Do voodoo witches always use shadows?"

"They're not witches," Miles corrected. "They're called priests or priestesses. Voodoo is seen more as a religion than a craft the way our magic is. And no. They can use any number of things. Dolls, cards, every day objects, it doesn't matter. Like with our magic, the only limit is how far you are willing to go."

"Creepy," Charlie murmured as she watched Mistoffelees play.

"Can be," Miles agreed, picking up the shadow up. "But it can also be used to help or heal as ours can."

"So how do you plan to solve this problem?"

"Find the person who cast the spell and make them take it off."

"How will you do that?"

Miles grinned at her in a very not nice way. "I've got a trick or two." He kissed her deeply. "Go buy me some time. The sooner we get this taken care of, the better."

Charlie disappeared in a puff of smoke. Miles chuckled. "Always with the theatrics." Mistoffelees butted his hand. "Right as always," Miles sighed. He looked at the shadow. "Time to find out where you come from." He tossed the shadow to Mistoffelees who caught it in his mouth. "Hold that for me."

Miles combined powers and incense with key herbs in a bowl. He murmured a spell as he mixed it all together. "Shadow," he ordered, holding out his hand. Mistoffelees dropped the shadow into his hand. Miles crushed the shadow and added it to the mixture. He shook a thin line onto a card and blew across it.

Deep in the Louisiana bayou, a voodoo priestess was trying to scry when a smoke figure billowed into the room. "How did you find this place?" she demanded.

"Tracking spell," Miles shrugged. "But that's not important. What is important is the curse you place on my soul bonded."

"I placed no curse."

"Liar," Miles snapped. "If you hadn't placed it I wouldn't be able to be here and we both know it. But I'm willing to overlook it. If you take it off."

The woman bit her lip. "I can't."

"If you can't take off a curse, why put it on?"

"It's not like that," she retorted. "I was told to put a curse on Charlotte Matheson."

Miles considered her words. He did have a lot of enemies in both worlds. There was a good chance they would attack Charlie to get to him. "Who ordered the hit?"

"Who do you think? The President, of course."

Miles frowned. "Kelly Foster doesn't have magic."

"No. But neither does Monroe and yet his capital city is barricaded against us. Like Monroe, Foster is aware of those of us in her country that can use magic. I'm told she has a list somewhere."

"What does she know exactly?"

"I'm not sure. She knows of magic and she knows of many low level and mid level practioners. The more powerful ones keep themselves cloaked. She doesn't know of the other world. But that's all I know, I swear."

The implications of her words made Miles scowl. "Take the curse of my soul bond. I'll take the heat with Foster."

"This is my home. How can you protect me?"

"I have people who owe me favors in the Other World. They'll protect you. You won't have to leave your home. I promise."

The woman picked up a straw doll and broke it in half. "The curse is gone. But remember your promise."

"You give me information; I'll keep you safe," Miles agreed.

"Then it's done."

Miles ended his spell and looked at Mistoffelees. "Let's get back to the real battle. I need to talk to Charlie before we move forward."


End file.
